


Happy Birthday, Asuka

by nogoatsnoglory



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rebuild of Evangelion | Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition
Genre: F/F, let me tell you about video games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nogoatsnoglory/pseuds/nogoatsnoglory
Summary: Mari finds the perfect birthday present for Asuka.
Relationships: Makinami Mari Illustrious/Shikinami Asuka Langley, Makinami Mari Illustrious/Souryuu Asuka Langley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Happy Birthday, Asuka

The Wunder was anchored at shore. Further inland, the crew had dispersed to survey the abandoned town. 

A trio of young women stood in front of a shopping mall's entrance. Two pairs of plugsuit heels and one of well-worn boots crunched over fallen leaves and shattered glass. Huffs of warm breath swirled in the cold air. None of them wanted to be out in the chilly November weather, but the feeling of freedom and the anticipation of exploration beat being trapped on board with everyone else for weeks on end. 

Mari could just barely make out the word "GAME" in the grime-covered mall directory. She smiled as she wondered what she would find. To her right, Asuka rubbed the elbow of her track jacket against the door's glass to clear away the dust. "What do you see?" Mari asked, as she turned toward Asuka in an attempt to casually hide the directory's mention of a video game store. 

"Looks deserted, and mostly clean. Could be worth it." Was Asuka's reply. Using a palm-sized rock, Asuka broke a hole in the glass to open the lock from the inside.

Once inside, Mari set her plan into action. "I think we should split up! Sakura and I can explore the back of the mall while you check the front!" Satisfied with the idea of some alone time, Asuka left Mari and Sakura to explore together. 

"A video game store?"   
"Mhm!"  
"Are you sure it's safe?" Sakura worried, sizing up the entrance. Just beyond the doors, a bookcase had fallen, leaving it to lean halfway against the next bookcase and spill dusty, grayed cartridges along the dirty floor. Merchandise and chunks of damaged ceiling tiles lay scattered on the ground. 

"Beyond the obvious, it looks alright to me. I promise, Sakura-chan, the moment I feel uneasy I'll bow out. You wait here for me, gotcha?"  
"Gotcha."

Mari gingerly ducked underneath the collapsed bookcase that partially blocked the entrance. As she wandered around, she saw so many games and consoles that tempted her. She somewhat regretted not being much of a gamer, pre-Impacts. Games always looked like fun, especially multi-player ones, she thought. But she had to remind herself of her mission, and that her backpack could only hold so much. After searching the store twice, Mari finally found what she was looking for:

Hanging on a pegboard wall was a collection of thin, rectangular cartridges smaller than credit cards, each sealed in a plastic bag. The plastic shells of the cartridges were a crystal-clear transparent, or a murky, almost-opaque black, and they all had exposed pins on one end. She shrugged her bag off one shoulder and unzipped the main compartment. Then she flipped through each game, passing up the ones with labels she recognized Asuka already owned and tossing the rest into her backpack. Satisfied, she turned around to leave and was greeted by a glass display case.. with the key in the lock. 

Mari opened the cabinet and surveyed the contents. Laid out were about five of the handheld console in various colors, along with accessories such as rechargeable battery packs, neck lanyards, worm lights, console-to-console link cables, and even a headphone adapter. Mari picked out an assortment and added them to the haul. Just as she zipped up, she faintly heard, "Maaaari? Is everything okay?" From Sakura at the entrance. "I'm on my way out!" Mari shouted back.

"Were you looking for something specific?" Sakura asked. "Mhm!" Mari chirped. "What was it?" "A present for the princess! Y'know, her birthday is soon~"

When the three met back up at the entrance, Mari had to steel herself to prevent grinning from ear to ear. Despite her efforts, her happiness could be seen on her face. "What's got you so chipper?" Asuka huffed, rubbing her hands together for warmth."Oh, nothing!" With Asuka leading the way, Mari winked and put one finger to her lips. Sakura only nodded. 

-Later that week-

Asuka entered the bedroom she shared with Mari and flopped onto her top bunk. A moment later, Mari, on her bottom bunk, lifted herself over the edge and peered up at Asuka. "Heeeeeey," she says with a smile. "Hey," Asuka replies back as she digs around under her pillow until she finds something. Satisfied, she pulls out her handheld and turns it on, but before the startup jingle can even finish, Mari quickly goes, "waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Come down, I've got something to show you!" "And you couldn't have told me before I got up here?" "Your adorable, grumpy, icy cold stare gave me a brain freeze! Anyway, you'll probably want some space on the floor to look at everything." "Everything?" "Yeahyeahyeahyeah! Bring your game, come on, sit next to me" Mari says, rolling off her bunk, grabbing her backpack from underneath, and sitting cross-legged on the floor. Asuka sits to her left. "So what is it?" Asuka questions. "Close your eye, gimme a moment to set it up," Asuka complies and Mari turns the bag upside down, dumping the contents onto the rug.. As they clatter against each other, a puzzled expression forms on Asuka's face. "What are you doing?" She asks. "It's not ready yet!"  
"Then hurry up…!"  
"Okay… now open!"

Asuka stares at the spread in front of her, and lets out a small gasp.   
"What the- how- where?!" Asuka finally sputters.   
"There was a game store in that mall we went to recently."  
"All this? There?"  
"Yep! All for you!"  
"Four-eyes, I…" she trails off, at a loss for words. Instead she begins examining each item, picking them up gently.   
"I don't know what each game or accessory is, just that they should work with your system. Heheh, I tried."   
"But.. why though? You.. deliberately sought this out.. for me?"  
"Because it's your birthday, and I love you," Mari states, reaching for Asuka's free hand with both of hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. The gesture is returned immediately. 

Asuka's cheeks are red, and she looks as if she might shed a tear. "Thanks, four-eyes," she sniffles. "You’re.. you're a damn good crony."  
"I try! Now, I picked up a spare system in case anything happened to yours, but I also figured there were some games we could play against each other?"   
"Oh, you bet," Asuka says as she picks a game out of the assortment, along with the link cable. Gone are the blushing cheeks and teary eyes, now replaced with a grin and glimmer in her eyes. Mari's expression is nearly identical.

**Author's Note:**

> I havent had the spoons to rewatch rebuilds since last March so im just letting canon get warped in my head. Never said these were all taking place in canon though HE HE. In my head, after impact 748e63 the world is like Fallout 3 but not as bad and somewhat less nukey. Make sense? I don't condone theft but it fits the context of the world and the staff is long gone, so
> 
> I started this in December... yknow... when Asuka's birthday actually is... then today I planned to take a nap, laid down, and opened Google Docs instead. 
> 
> I could go on for hours about the Wonderswan. I have one. Used to have two. Love them so much. *clenches fists* so much.


End file.
